The name might not ring a bell, but Jim Parsons is as familiar a face as they come on prime-time TV. As Dr. Sheldon Cooper on Chuck Lorre’s The Big Bang Theory, Parsons brings a loveable charm to an otherwise obnoxiously superior character.
But as Parsons gains notoriety for his impeccable comedic timing and ease with which he delivers rocket-science calibre monologues, the myths surrounding the young actor and his murky background swirl in his success. Here are eight things you may or may not know about the actor.
His not-so-rocky start
Contrary to rumours, Parsons only starred in three bum pilots before Big Bang, not 15 as some fan sites propose. “I don’t know how that started,” Parsons says. “I guess I didn’t pay as many dues as 15 sounds like … I almost wish I could say so!”
He once pretended to suck the teat of a wolf
Besides standing out in commercial work for Stride gum, FedEx and DiGiorno Pizza, Parsons also starred in the controversial Quizno’s ad in which he pretended to suck the teat of a dog, proving he was raised by wolves.
“A lot of people would probably think pretending to suckle the teat of a wolf is not the best thing for an actor to be doing, but it didn’t bother me,” Parsons says with a shrug when asked if the moment was a cringeworthy one in his career. “She was the sweetest Siberian Husky you’ve ever met – she was a bigger pleasure to work with than some humans I’ve worked with in my life.”
Working to make ends meet
Contrary to reports, Parsons never worked in construction between jobs, although he did work at a place called Hable Construction – a shop owned by two sisters who make “pillows and bags and things like that.” Parsons considers the ladies a good luck charm; not only did they let him answer phones and mind the shop to bring in some extra money, but he had only been there two or three months before he was able to start paying his bills from only his acting gigs.
He missed the Oscars to practice playing Sheldon Cooper
While his friends were out and about at viewing parties on the night of the Academy Awards, Parsons was cooped up in a sublet apartment for pilot season in Los Angeles, practicing the complicated lines of his future Big Bang character. But don’t confuse any invites to viewing parties with an invite to the real event, as some publications have: “My life is so much less glamorous,” Parsons admits, sadly. “I should really just shut up and let you print all this crap from other people! It’s so much better.”
He writes out his lines
Two successful seasons in, and Parsons still needs to write out his lines before the live taping on Tuesday nights. He has to – anyone who has watched the show knows how many words Sheldon crams into a sentence on a light day, never mind the hard ones. “For every episode, I have to fill out my little flash cards like some sort of fifth grader in a science class,” the actor admits. “It’s the only way I get them in my head – and even then there are some that just hold on by a thread. I can’t tell you how much writing I do.”
It doesn’t all come naturally
Although Parsons is, by definition, a smart guy, his IQ is nowhere near the level of his character’s, who was what you would call a child prodigy. “When we first get the read-through I mispronounce things with a fair frequency,” Parsons says with a laugh. “I never understand them to a deep degree, but I do my darndest to find out what Sheldon is trying to imply or compare the human conversation to in science terms.”
His secret talent
When Penny (Kelly Cuoco) slipped Sheldon a drink in the first season, it resulted in Sheldon giving a piano performance, complete with a song. What some may not know is that Parsons actually studied the piano in real life. “That wasn’t my best work, I was never any sort of cabaret-type player,” he downplays. “I never accompanied myself. I had a lot of help from Simon Helberg [who plays Wolowitz on the show] in figuring out how to simplify the chords so I could sing over them. He’s is a very skilled pianist, more so than me.”
His second-season surprise
Parsons had no idea his show had been picked up for a second season until he received a mysterious text message on his phone, saying, “Congratulations on a second-season pick-up.” The actor was convinced it was a joke, until he almost immediately received text messages from co-stars Johnny Galecki (“What the hell’s going on?”) and Helberg confirming the text. Turns out Parsons hadn’t programmed creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre’s number into his new phone.
The Big Bang Theory airs Mondays, 8:30 p.m. ET, CTV/CBS.
Thoughts? amber@tvguide.ca
